Absolutely amazing bi partisan DACA meeting that was televised! I give Trump credit for allowing this to happen, if he continues in this vein he can rehabilitate his image even among the most hard core anti Trumpists. If he truly will sign a bill that protects the DACA kids and adults without the wall, as he said, he will have accomplished something that he can be proud of. He said he would sign whatever the Congress came up with.

However I’m already hearing the right having fits, like Ann Coulter, lol.

If he truly will sign a bill that protects the DACA kids and adults without the wall,

I don’t know where you got that.

The president said he would insist on construction of a border security wall as part of an agreement involving young immigrants, but he said Congress could then pursue a comprehensive immigration overhaul in the second phase - AP

Probably the same people who convinced you you could throw away your vote on Jill Stein.

Why is it so important to you that we have no realistic method of enforcing duly enacted immigration laws? It’s almost as if you think the Constitution is no more than a piece of toilet paper.

Although, now that the economy is going great guns, there is certainly room for some easing of immigration restrictions, but that’s not the same thing as saying that borders should go as relics of retrograde xenophobia. Isn’t that what Hitler said to the Poles in ’38, was it? Unfortunately though, it looks like our economy is in need of more skilled workers than Mexican peasants, at the moment.

Why can’t Democrats let our own unskilled workers benefit from an economic boom? Obviously, they would rather have the new votes, what with abortion stymying the growth of the African American electorate and all.

The closest I have seen to an answer to the above question from a troll was TTR, who said that he had a “more sophisticated understanding of the law of supply and demand” than I did, so there was no conflict between concern for American unskilled labor and flooding the labor market with same.

He never did explain his “more sophisticated understanding” but you know it had to do with the harsh exercise of state power.

He also said he would sign whatever bi partisan bill was placed on his desk.

That would be a win win win for Democrats, assure his defeat, hand over the House and maybe the Senate, create the new electorate that Democrats need to avoid compromising with the current center-right electorate of America!

Build the wall. When they finally get a program that works, it can come down.

Yes. Force the issue. Highlight it with an indelible wall. The issue is emigration reform, not immigration reform. There are around one million Americans who would have qualified, which immigration reform submerges under a quasi-legal, moral layer of privacy.

“What about a clean DACA bill now with a commitment that we go into a comprehensive immigration reform procedure?”- Feinstein

“I have no problem — I think that’s basically what [Sen.] Dick [Durbin (D-IL)] has said. We will do DACA and start on the phase two which would be comprehensive. I would like that. I think a lot of people would like to see that. But I think we have to do DACA first.” -Trump

"The Center For American Progress (CAP) Action Fund circulated a memo on Monday calling illegal immigrants brought here at a young age — so-called “Dreamers” — a “critical component of the Democratic Party’s future electoral success.”

The memo, co-authored by former Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri, was sent around to allies calling on Democrats to “refuse to offer any votes for Republican spending bills that do not offer a fix for Dreamers and instead appropriate funds to deport them.”"

So, they're admitting it. The plan is to replace the American people with immigrants who will vote for Democrats. The possibility that their plan will have destructive side effects for most Americans does not concern them even slightly.

What do you have against unskilled workers here in the United States? Are you worried you won’t be able to find a cleaning lady cheap enough? Or anybody to cut your lawn cheap enough?

Maybe you worried about how the billionaires are going to keep their strings of polo ponies and stables of racehorses without illegal labor that doesn’t even know about labor protections like overtime?

immigrants brought here at a young age — so-called “Dreamers” — a “critical component of the Democratic Party’s future electoral success.”

I don’t think they included in the math that they were kicking another “component” of their “electoral success” to the curb, expecting low skilled working class whites to stay in the party while they were being royally screwed.

This is sort of a life and death struggle for the parties as constituted though. Democrats could always tack a little to the right, but that’s unacceptable to them, of course. Their abandonment of the trailer park vote though has already. forced the Republicans a little to the left, shown by nominating Trump.

Author and conservative commentator Ann Coulter denounced President Trump's apparent willingness to make a deal to allow so-called DREAMers to remain in the country.

Trump met at the White House on Tuesday with top Democrats and Republicans, prodding them to come to an agreement on a border wall and a fix for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients as part of comprehensive immigration reform.

Coulter called out Trump for seemingly wavering on a wall and for expressing a willingness to work with Democrats on DACA.

"Because this court should not be in the business of ceremonial hand-wringing, I respectfully dissent.”

That's the final sentence of a dissent by dumb cluck cold-hearted Clarence Thomas, also signed by Justices Scalito, & I forget (the newest right-winger on the court). Six justice said it was clear that one juror was a racist and voted for the death penalty because he hated "niggers."

Immigrants brought here at a young age are different and children crossing the border I could never understand how those babies could crawl 90 miles or from where ever they lived to get across the border.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is emphasizing “border security”, avoiding calling it the “wall”. She just said Congress will negotiate what “border security” consists of. Ah, very slick.

Senator Flake just said that after the cameras stopped rolling Trump became much more open to just plain border security as opposed to “the wall”. Very interesting, looks like he knows there will be no DACA bill that includes the “wall” and he wants the victory of a DACA bill. He wants to show his “love”, that’s very nice.❤️ Makes me like him better.

Inga said...Whoa, what a big news day, Feinstein allows the transcript from the Fusion GPS testimony to be published to the public!

1/9/18, 12:59 PM

This is akin to House Democrats or their staff members on the Benghazi committee) releasing to the NYT newly disclosed information that Hilary Clinton had a secret server:

NYT March 2, 2015

"...The existence of Mrs. Clinton’s personal email account was discovered by a House committee investigating the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi as it sought correspondence between Mrs. Clinton and her aides about the attack."

The publication of this information was a head's up to Clinton and her staff to bleach bit the server before the Republicans on the House Committee could issue a subpoena to preserve its contents.

Only the Democrats, not the Republicans would have a vested interest in doing this.

Today 'Feinstein said that she released Simpson’s testimony after conferring with her fellow committee Democrats.

“The American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves,” she said.'

'...Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee blasted Feinstein’s decision to release the transcript.

“It’s totally confounding that Senator Feinstein would unilaterally release a transcript of a witness interview in the middle of an ongoing investigation – a witness that Feinstein herself subpoenaed last year for lack of cooperation,” said Grassley spokesman Taylor Foy.

“Her action undermines the integrity of the committee’s oversight work and jeopardizes its ability to secure candid voluntary testimony relating to the ***independent recollections*** of future witnesses,” added Foy...'

I strongly suspect that Fusion GPS's Glenn Simpson lobbied hard (in his recent NYT Op-Ed) for the transcript's release now because he wanted prospective hostile witnesses to get their party line stories straight.

However, the recent (or imminent) release of both Fusion GPS' bank records and DOJ /FBI documents on the Fusion GPS dossier to Devin Nunes House committee will likely overshadow any benefit to Simpson that the release of his interview might bring.

Let' see. A bunch of people are in the country in violation of its laws. The proposal is to simply allow them to remain, and to suffer no consequences. Why would your political position affect your ability to see that this is what is called "amnesty"?

Oh that's right, you're Igna. Your political position determines your views on everything. If George Soros told you you had disappeared, you wouldn't be able to see your own face in the mirror. Just a pink pussy hat, floating over an empty space.

“Let' see. A bunch of people are in the country in violation of its laws. The proposal is to simply allow them to remain, and to suffer no consequences. Why would your political position affect your ability to see that this is what is called "amnesty"?”

Since the dreamers didn’t walk or crawl over the border of their own volition, they did nothing wrong. So allowing them to stay and making way for citizenship is not amnesty.

am·nes·tyˈamnəstē/Submitnoun1.an official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offenses."an amnesty for political prisoners"synonyms: pardon, pardoning, reprieve; Moreverb1.grant an official pardon to."the guerrillas would be amnestied and allowed to return to civilian life"synonyms: pardon, pardoning, reprieve; More

Cameras in the Trump Boardroom, er White House, capturing a magnanimous President leading a bi-partisan, bi-cameral group of egos through difficult issues and even offering to provide cover to both sides to fix DACA, border security, chain migration, and lottery.

Igna, Why did I know that you would come back and quote some dictionary, as if the bonehead who chose to compile it somehow elevated his opinions to the status of indelible truths by that decision?

I sincerely hope that someone will "do nothing wrong" by breaking into your home and setting up a tent in your kitchen. Forcing you to let them stay will not be "amnesty". The "amnesty" will be forcing you to cook and clean for them, and continue to pay taxes for the property you are no longer allowed to use. And dance on the table for their amusement. In your little pink pussy hat. Ole!

$20 billion is a pittance; you guy's want to spend $1,000 billion on infrastructure. $20 billiion is a rounding error. And you're not willing to trade that to free the "Dreamers"? Thanks for the answer, but I don't believe you.

At this point I know not to get upset about anything the media says about Trump. They peddled enough misinformation about the tax reform bill; they will distort whatever Trump says about the wall and immigration, especially if they think it will demoralize his base. I'll wait and see what his actions are.

Gee, what could be contributing to record low black unemployment? Certainly not keeping out low wage competition for their jobs!

It’s funny how well Democrats understand economics when it comes to unions setting up a picket line to prevent people willing to work cheaper than the union wants from taking the jobs. All of a sudden they don’t understand the concept when it’s illegal aliens, and not scabs, and a border, not a picket line.

What is a scab but a person willing to undercut the wages the union demands? Why is an illegal alien not a scab? Reasons!

"It’s funny how well Democrats understand economics when it comes to unions setting up a picket line to prevent people willing to work cheaper than the union wants from taking the jobs. All of a sudden they don’t understand the concept when it’s illegal aliens, and not scabs, and a border, not a picket line."

Well, cons have taught us that the job creators will only pay so much for labor. So, assume that yur putting upward pressure on wages for folks who compete w/ illegals, that's gonna result in more automation, just like higher minimum wages do.

Which is fine by me. Mexicans (and such) are better than whiney Americans who don't work or think well, and machines are better than Mexicans (and such).

So raise the min, or get rid of the illegals who aren't afraid to work. Gets ta the same, better place.

“You're unwilling to spend $20 billion to secure the Dreamer's right to stay?”

For the second time now, the Dreamers will have their right to stay secured without the “wall”. Border Security has now replaced the “wall”, sorry Trumpists, looks like your wall dreams have been shattered. Did you people not watch the White House press briefing today? Did you not hear what Senator Flake said about what Trump said after the cameras stopped rolling? There apparently was some agreement about border security replacing a wall being built.

Well, cons have taught us that the job creators will only pay so much for labor.

What you should have learned is that job creators will pay as much for labor as they have to to get jobs done that only labor can do. You are mistaken in thinking that legislating higher wages is the same thing as creating them though market forces. That’s because you guys don’t believe in the “invisible hand” (natural selection) in the market place, and instead believe in some kind of Flying Spaghetti Monster who can create a smoothly working economy by making various decrees. Same as some people do not believe in evolution and insist on believing there is somebody behind the wheel running the planet.

If wages go up organically so much that robots are cheaper, it will be because there are more jobs than workers. If the government just declares higher wages, you won’t have the excess jobs to replace the jobs taken by robots. It’s not that hard ADS. You just don’t want to see it, or else you really are as dim as your posts seem to indicate.

So raise the min, or get rid of the illegals who aren't afraid to work. Gets ta the same, better place.

No. Just No. I'm sure I'm wasting my time on you, but maybe somebody else will be enlightened by my attempt to set you straight, so here goes:

Yes, employers will only pay people so much, before switching to automation. But raising the minimum wage and getting rid of illegal immigrants would have very different effects.

By getting rid of illegal immigrants, employers would have to pay the legal workers the market rate, resulting in full employment, even for African Americans. Then, to the extent there are not enough workers, wages will rise until more jobs become cheaper to automate. Full employment, market wages, some additional automation.

By raising the minimum wage, some employers would switch to automation, while others would employ illegal workers below minimum wage because minimum wage will not be applied to people who can't work here legally anyway. African Americans who could be employed at market rates, but not at the new minimum wage, remain unemployed because they are still being undercut by illegal immigrants.

American workers are, when compared to more desperate folks, lazy and self-entitled.

You, obviously, don't hire large numbers of them.

I can assure you that automation and off shoring are inevitable (as if that isn't obvious to anyone w/ a pulse). It is true that eager beavers from other countries who get here (incl. legally) do stand out as good workers. But, you can't give them citizenship and full benefits or else, human nature, they start to be just like the locals. In which case it's best to just employ them where they are.

But, I don't care if you don't get this. Yur on my side re gov policy re what is actually implemented v the jabber that is fed to folks like you. That you don't get it is a feature, not a bug.

Inga, I did watch the the conference, or whatever you want to call it. You're grasping at straws.

More to the point, you are avoiding answering the question; the same as all the democrats I see on TV when they are pushed to explain why they oppose a wall. First they say "cost", then they change the subject. The fact is, there is no legitimate excuse for the obstruction. And it's sad you are holding the "Dreamers" hostage to your political strategy.

One day the anti-Trumpers are screaming that he's a moron, he colluded with the Russians, he is not mentally competent and should be removed from office and the very next day they are in love with him. Who's crazy here? Trump must be laughing his a** off. He's willing to spend a little politicial capital to totally eviserate the Democrats on their own petard because in the long run he's gaining political capital.

BTW, Trump is listening to border control agents who have advised him that there is no need for a wall in certain areas because of geographic features. The wall is part of border security.

can assure you that automation and off shoring are inevitable (as if that isn’t obvious to anyone w/ a pulse)

It’s kind of funny that before I retired, I was involved in contracts with corporations in other countries, and oddly, they often contained clauses that required that a certain number of jobs had to be performed in, for example, New Zealand, to meet requirements of local laws. Even though these jobs could certainly have been done more cheaply elsewhere, or there would be no need for the law!

Anyway, I think you are mistaking cold analysis of your own self-interest with analysis of the situation as a whole. I admit that I have rejected free market economics even though I have benefited from them greatly. I just don’t see how it benefits American workers as a whole that I can drive a beautiful car cheap, under 100K! imported from Germany, but I know that economists will purport to be able to “prove” that the guy down the road making his living with a ’95 F250 with a dump bed and a plow, and driving a an older Chevy Microdot to the store, or whatever, benefits from my sweet ride! He can prove it mathematically!

I had an econ teacher who said he could prove mathematically that liquor was better than beer, and maybe he could, but I have a feeling that the “proof" above begins with the words “Assuming that.”

“Inga, I did watch the the conference, or whatever you want to call it. You're grasping at straws.”

1. Bipartisan meeting/ negotiation about DACA- televised.2. Daily White House Press briefing- televised as usual.3. Senator Flake comment to reporters after the bipartisan DACA meeting as to what was said after the cameras stopped rolling.

Three different events in which the “wall” was shot down and replaced with mere border security, which is great actually. But keep hope alive regarding that wall.

I believe that the Democrats are willing to shut down the government because of 22 billion dollars over a span of years! Oh yeah, and here is a turnip that was in my pocket from the truck I just fell out of!

"Inga said...“Inga, I did watch the the conference, or whatever you want to call it. You're grasping at straws.”

1. Bipartisan meeting/ negotiation about DACA- televised.2. Daily White House Press briefing- televised as usual.3. Senator Flake comment to reporters after the bipartisan DACA meeting as to what was said after the cameras stopped rolling.

Three different events in which the “wall” was shot down and replaced with mere border security, which is great actually. But keep hope alive regarding that wall."

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump, meeting with lawmakers about immigration policy, insisted Tuesday that once Congress commits to building a wall along half the Mexican border and other security measures, he'd be happy to turn attention to a "comprehensive" reform overhaul -- a term that traditionally includes eventual citizenship for people in the country illegally.

He used the bipartisan meeting to prod Congress to address the status of 800,000 young people at risk for deportation, after he scrapped last fall an Obama-era executive order protecting immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

As for his long-promised border wall, he emphasized that it doesn't have to be built in areas where mountains and other terrain make it unnecessary, "but we do need a wall for a fairly good portion."

You do sound like you don’t not believe in the benefit of free markets, as a theory.

I used to believe all of it. But it’s a case where “The more I see, the less I know.” and at some point, you have to figure it’s because your underlying theory is wrong.

Anyway, with the players involved, who are actually bitching that the US cut its corporate tax rate to make it competitive with theirs, and who mouthed free-market economics, while only demanding it of the US, well, that’s a suckers game, like playing poker with marked cards, and you are the only one expected to play as if the cards were not marked.

“President Donald Trump introduced chaos into immigration negotiations on Tuesday when he said he'd accept whatever compromise that Congress comes up with so long as he gets his border wall.

Trump told a group of 20 legislators from both parties at the White House that he could get behind a two-step process that would save the Dreamers from deportation and beef up border security that's followed by a total immigration overhaul.

'My positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with,' Trump at one point said. 'If they come to me with things I'm not in love with, I'm gonna do it, because I respect them.'

The assertion was a 180 from Trump's earlier stance that immigration legislation must include funding for the border wall and radical changes to the visa process in addition to the safety measures Democrats are pursuing for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

I know that China still F-s US. But, I also know that it was worse before China was in the WTO.

OTOH, it's not really better. Just more on the down low. Now they can't say, for example: 'Hey Boeing, build shit here and tell us your tech, or we don't buy.' But, they still get the same thing. On the DL. The very thinly disguised DL.

“Donald Trump held an extraordinary public negotiation on immigration reform with congressional leaders, during which he declined to commit himself to any particular policy but affirmed that he would sign off on whatever Congress sends him. Lest you think I am unfairly interpreting the president’s words, here is what he said:

I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with. I am very much reliant on the people in this room. I know most of the people on both sides, I have a lot of respect for the people on both sides, and what I approve is going to be very much reliant on what the people in this room come to me with. I have great confidence. If they come to me with things that I’m not in love with, I’m going to do it, because I respect them.

Which is to say, he has said he will sign immigration legislation inconsistent with his own principles, unless “things I’m not in love with” means something else.”

We know that DJT has run businesses into the ground in the past. What are the odds that some of his stuff is getting sorta shitty now? Sure, we've been hearing about Kush getting big dough loans to keep him afloat. But what about the big, orange guy?

Yes, it was confusing to Trump, but he did better than I expected. He needed to be prompted by Republicans several times to clarify himself.

“Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) has been on the front lines of Congress’s immigration debate for more than a decade, but after he left a meeting with President Donald Trump on the issue Tuesday, he said his “head is spinning.”

Durbin told reporters that Trump described the “wall” in many different ways during the meeting, leaving some in the room confused about what he was actually envisioning. Republicans seemed to come away with varying degrees of specifics.

“It’s not a 2000-mile physical wall,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) recounted of Trump’s explanation. “We’ve been begging him to say this kind of stuff before. It’s about 700 or 800 miles total. Some of that is a replacement. But more important, the wall is really a fence. That was really important, a wall system.”

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said “what was very clear today is border security is not a wall. That is an element of multiple elements that are going to be in there.”

Lankford went on to say:

The president today has backed off of any kind of description that he’s looking for a sea-to-shining-sea fence, or wall. He backed up and said, That is not what we’re trying to do. We’re going to do technology in some areas. That’s one of the things Democrats have pushed very hard on to say technology will lead, not wall in some areas. He consented to that today.

I don't know what to make of this. Besides equating Trump behavior with Clinton rape, it almost seems like Joe is making an attempt to see it from a non-Dem viewpoint by analogy to Dem-view point. That's just not Joe-like.

"The problem thus far has been President Trump’s insistence on a completely ineffective and absurdly expensive border wall as a part of any deal on DACA." -- Sen. Schumer today.

If Trump starts broadcasting these live bi-partisan meetings, Dems gonna bend, Schumer will become inconsequential. People will see Trump is not as goofy as advertised. People will notice who is not willing to compromise.

"Original Mike said...Inga, for Christ sake. We saw it! (at least some of us did). It was the usual Trump word salad. What do you think you're proving?"

That's she's a dullard. It doesn't matter what the Senate Majority and Minority leaders say, she's right. She'll be saying "no wall!" after the fucking thing is built. No, worse. She'll be saying it after its warranty has expired.

"I don't know what to make of this. Besides equating Trump behavior with Clinton rape, it almost seems like Joe is making an attempt to see it from a non-Dem viewpoint by analogy to Dem-view point. That's just not Joe-like."

Just like the Egyptians prepped their crazies for the US move to Jerusalem, the lib biosphere has already signaled they give zero Fs re this. E.g., "Pod Save America."

In a way it's the Ds being intellectually honest. Everybody knows that this DJT jabber is only meant to placate dumb R voters. Doing this wall is actually counterproductive re the best way to keep US folks from hiring illegals. Likewise re drugs coming in. And so it goes re Osama II coming over w/ a nuke and a wet back.

"Doing this wall is actually counterproductive re the best way to keep US folks from hiring illegals."

How so?Majority come across the border. Assuming the "wall" means more $ for border security incl border patrols, the cost (of one sort or another) of crossing will increase, a lot probably. Numbers will therefore fall.

Unless a later Democrat admin tells the Border Patrol to look the other way. That's where any "wall", of whatever kind, will break, instantly.

But whatever system is in place, "wall" or not, is vulnerable to Democrat operational mandates anyway. They can tell whomever, border patrol or whoever you presumably want to enforce employment laws, to look away.

There is no way to prevent a future Democratic administration, which will reverse all the Trumpian policies in days. And the first thing they will do is to overtly create a permanent Democratic majority by importing a new population. Just waiting didn't do it, obviously, they will certainly not leave it to chance and time, this time.

And then you will indeed be a third-world state, a banana republic, run by a hereditary oligarchy, as you are fated to be. This civilization is not exempt from entropy, or at least some bloody series of struggles against entropy, that is what the whole world has to look forward to, soon enough.

Bill Joy (Sun Micro) wrote "Why The Future Doesn't Need Us", postulating human replacement by machines, or even extermination by nanomachine "grey goo". Mr. Joy didn't need to bring in technology as a villain, human society and economics will bring its own sort of grey goo long before that.

The funny thing is how some people are so happy to be on the side of the grey goo.

BTW, I became a Sun certified Java programmer. For fun. Never worked as a programmer, or studied it (beyond plowing through two test prep books, in three days). Just wanted to show some friends that they weren't 'all that' after they were fussing about the difficulty of this exam. I got a 93%. Way beyond them, and the mean.

But what jabber did you buy, yourself? Like I said, you are on the side of the grey goo. Destruction. I don't see what you intend to get out of this. It all will destroy you too.

Innit though? Just nihilism. That or something worse, because any better answer is never, never forthcoming, not even if we beg.

You know, buwaya, at least even after a societal breakdown here, distance still will protect our shores till we iron things out, but the rest of the world will surely go to hell. It's a pity the ROW does not value US stability more.

BTW, buwaya, PBJ or shiloh or whoever he is, he owes me a nickel every time he says "jabber." I taught him that word on a thread sometime last year and he hasn't been able to let go of it since. It must have gutted him at the time.

You of course have free license to use it. It will be safe in the verbal arsenal of one who knows the difference between "drivel" and "dribble."

My own theory on the verbal kaka, is that with enough degradation of the dialogue here, good people will throw up their hands and "let them do what they want." Kill the board, kill the Republic, boot on the human face forever...I guess they think they will be wearing the boot.

Certainly - in the brave new world talent and status - or rather, purpose - will be the domain of just a few. Everyone else will be either tolerated, for political reasons, or exterminated. They will be redundant. Humans make bad pets.

Best to find somewhere, an island, a small country, out of the way, or interest of any great power. If normal human life is going to persist anywhere it is in a niche like this.

It is probably true that a wall will not be particularly effective. The majority of illegal immigrants overstay tourist or academic visas. But I would add, that the ones who will be stopped by a wall are disproportionally the ones you want to stop; young men who can't get academic or tourist visas.

This is short-sighted. You cannot save yourself, you are going to die as we all do. And this is not a problem of one life, or one generation, but of all your posterity. If you haven't got a posterity, then don't worry. Sell your New Zealand place, unless it pleases you. After you the deluge.

"There is no way to prevent a future Democratic administration, which will reverse all the Trumpian policies in days."

Not so fast there. White people are beginning to come to our senses. The interesting point will be Asians. They are beginning to understand that the Left regards them as a minority when it's time to vote, but "white" when it's time to hand out the spoils. The Dems need voters who think handouts are a better deal than what they can earn. Which means they need poor, stupid people and criminals. If we can prevent their importing a new population more to their liking, we have an excellent chance of keeping the Dems in their hole indefinitely.

"The cold-blooded monsters essentially allow themselves to be frozen in place, with their noses just above the surface, according to a video posted on Facebook by Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach. That’s about 200 miles east of Charlotte.

What passersby see is noses and teeth – really big teeth – sticking out of the ice. The "alligators on ice" video received 45,000 views in its first 21 hours on Facebook.

"Just hanging out in the water," said the narrator of the video. "Pretty amazing. … Look at those teeth. This is the time of year when they are just hanging out, waiting for it to get warm."

Anyway, I'm on my way to bed and making a quick run around the TV dial (yeah, I know, they don't have dials any more). I see that Terminator 2 is on. Linda Hamilton is looking really sexy -- not necessarily pretty/beautiful, but sexy -- they are different things.

Now, remember that whiny punk kid from T-2? Checked him out on the Cast/Crew function on the remote. That whiny punk super annoying punk kid (Edward Furlong) is now over 40 years old.

My experience living near Buffalo was that a freeze over sort of shut down the machine, but that was just my observation. Not a meteorologist.

What was kind of funny was that for a while I lived at the top of a small hill near the lake, maybe a hundred feet high, but it was kind of steep, and I remember once when the snow started about halfway up that little hill. So you could throw a stone from inside the accumulating snow, and it would land outside of it.